What's eating my tomato plants?

[bethh]

I have cedar raised bed gardens and I've planted according to square foot gardening as much as I could. Sometimes I get carried away. Long story short, something is eating my tomato plants. Not the leaves or tomatoes but the actual stems. I don't know what it is so I don't know how to address it. A varmint has eaten some of my radishes, beets and parts of my squashes.

I'm afraid if I don't figure this out and soon, I won't have a tomato crop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know of anything that will eat tomato plants like that. The leaves and stems are supposed to really be bitter. A wild boar would probably flatten your garden and not be very delicate. Would a groundhog do that? It feels like it would be something big.

 

[flowerbug]

are there tunnels around the chewed up root crops? maybe voles... if there is obvious digging to get to the root crops it could be groundhogs. being far enough south you may have animals down there we don't have up here...

hmm, tomatoes, we don't see that kind of damage here, i can say it isn't tomato worms to help rule out that. perhaps young deer.

 

[catjac1975]

I have cedar raised bed gardens and I've planted according to square foot gardening as much as I could. Sometimes I get carried away. Long story short, something is eating my tomato plants. Not the leaves or tomatoes but the actual stems. I don't know what it is so I don't know how to address it. A varmint has eaten some of my radishes, beets and parts of my squashes.

I'm afraid if I don't figure this out and soon, I won't have a tomato crop. View attachment 31954View attachment 31954 View attachment 31955

Can you get your hands on a have a hart trap? I don't know where you live so the pest may be local to your region. The trap could catch it without accidentally getting your curious pet. But, releasing it elsewhere would simply give them a vacation while they traveled back to your home. My go-to ideas is a woodchuck but I don't think they would eat what you showed us. They like tender greens. A rat perhaps.

 

[Beekissed]

Voles would be my guess. How tall are your plants and where on the height of the plant are they chewing them off? If up tall, groundhog, if nearer the base, voles.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/animal-eat-tomato-plants-60523.html

 

[bid]

I'd guess voles too. But you should see evidence of tunneling. Perhaps baby rabbits, but the cuts aren't sharp as you would expect. Normally rabbits and deer will sample a tomato but not actually eat the plant which seems to be the case.

Look for any evidence (I'm sure you have) like droppings, tunnels, etc. I wish you luck. I know how frustrating it is when the local critters get to harvesting before you get a chance.

 

[seedcorn]

On tomato, look for caterpillars or slugs. Same with greens. Radishes. Themselves, probably mice or relative.

 

[Carol Dee]

My vote is for Groundhog. I hate those varmints. We had a family of them move in under a shed at the garden one year. Took bites out of nearly everything. Ruined a lot of produce, beans, squash, melon, tomato, everything. War was waged.

 

[bethh]

I’ve been out of town and came out to the garden this morning. I was stacking my tomato plants and noticed a crack in the stem. This is what I found... please help.

 

[Beekissed]

Army worms?

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/way-rid-armyworms-tomatoes-94219.html